Completion of prototype #2

Yay! I'm so excited! I just completed prototype #2 and I am WAY more satisfied with it than I was with the first one.

It took me 7 hours to mosaic it though, and the pieces were precut. I spent a good hour or two yesterday cutting the glass. So, it is very time consuming, but the results are fabulous. 

This colored mirrored glass is really gorgeous. 

I am happy with the way it turned out and am ready to start on the wave wall right away!

The making of prototype #2

I learned how to do stained glass today! Colin showed me how to solder. He used to share his studio with a stained glass artist, so he picked up some tips from him, and passed them to me.

I got a crapy glass cutter at Lowe's which doesn't really cut curves at all. This morning I went over to the Blue Moon Stained Glass store and got the owner Diana to cut this piece. She recommended the $40 glass cutter with the oil in it. She said even she can't cut with the $3 glass cutters.

While I was there I picked up some came in two sizes. The first is a U shape on both sides, and the second is a U shape only on one side. The first one goes between the glass panels, and the second borders the entire piece. 

Colin made this steel frame and cut out the same shape as the glass. He also cut two shapes I had sketched out where the light will shine through. He used a hole saw to cut two holes to insert marbles into.

After soldering the came together around the glass we inserted it and glued it in with e6000.

Tomorrow I will mosaic the entire piece! I already like this prototype WAY more than the last one so I'm excited.

A turn in the direction

Well the client was not pleased with the prototype. I am okay with that, because I was not thrilled about it once it was finished either. The grout messed it up, and the stucco was too flakey. I guess it took doing it to know though.

SO, the new and improved prototype is on it's way. The new plan is to make the wall out of sheet metal, with cut out shapes for the glass windows and cut out lines between the mosaic patterns. The mosaic will now be glued on with no grout. 

This is way better because no cement is involved, and breathing cement is a bummer. So I'm happy! The new materials I am using are way prettier too. I spent a few hours picking out various glass and tiles around town and then a few hours breaking them up with a tile nipper. 

Overall, although it was a some what uncomfortable situation, I am relieved that the first prototype was rejected, and I'm excited to be moving in a new direction.

Completion of prototype

Well, I am excited to say that the prototype is almost complete. In the morning I will just need to clean up the edges of the caulking with a razor blade.

My neighbor Carman came out to see what I was working on and offered to lend a helping hand. He is from Guadalajara and doesn't speak much English, so we practiced each other's languages as we work on the piece.

After the grouting was complete we wiped it clean with a rag and then brushed it off with a paint brush. The back side stucco was smoothed out with a wet sponge.

We caulked the edges and smoothed that out with our fingers.

Then we removed the tape and paper from the window and caulked that in. A few minutes later we scraped the residue off the window from the caulk.

 

Wa La: The completed prototype.

Carman kept calling it a fish, but it's not really a fish, it is just a shape that loosely represents what the wall will consist of.

I will spend a few hours this evening working on the architectural drawings. Then tomorrow at 3pm I meet with the client to present the prototype and pick up the deposit!  

The making of the prototype

Colin handed over the ready to mosaic prototype around 5:30pm. He cut the backer board to fit the metal frame he had made and then screwed it on. He was also so kind to cut the window out for me. 

I just finished laying the mosaic! It will be ready to grout in 16 to 24 hours. In the morning I will have to run to the hardware store to pick up some silicone to secure the glass panel. While I am there I will return the random items that I didn't end up needing and probably pick up a few more things.

I'M EXCITED!!

Making the test panel

Yesterday Colin and I discovered a backing board designed for curved walls. It's called Permabase Flex. After calling two different manufacturers and finding out where their distributors were in Austin I finally tracked down a place in Round Rock that had them in stock. I had already made the drive all the way out to Pflugerville to go to the powder coater to get a sample of the blue metal. I was in the car again on my way back up there not less than an hour after I got home.

Sample from powder coater

I had also been to Lowes after the powder coater and thought that making a stucco wall on both sides was going to be the way to go. I purchased all the materials to do the test panel like that, along with the tools it was going to take to cut out the windows, and assemble the thing. 

After talking to Colin again we decided to try the flexible backing board first, because that could potential save a ton of time. I cut out a window panel on a piece of the backer board when I got home and did a few tests with finishing coat stucco cement.

I discovered I needed an additive for the cement if it was going to be applied to a backer board. I also got an idea from my uncle Jimmy, who I had been talking to about the project daily since it's conception. He suggested I use J molding to finish off the perimeter of the backing board for the prototype. He said it could also be used to frame the windows.

I went back to Lowes just before they closed and picked up a few more items. They did not have the J molding though.

This morning I did my first sample mosaic, testing the materials. The flexible backer board is very easy to work with and I did not run into any complications. Caulking the glass into place for the window was new to me, but I am rapidly learning about how all of this stuff works.

I am waiting for the mortar to dry. I will be able to grout in the morning. I am planning on using the finishing stucco cement for the grout to pull it all together. One side is going to be a detailed mosaic, and the other side is going to be more sparse.

Colin came over and picked up a piece of the Permabase Flex to fix to the metal frame he made for the prototype. I will be able to pick that up shortly and begin the mosaic that will be presented on Monday. 

In the mean time I laid out the tile and glass in place so it is ready to be applied to the prototype!

My workspace in the woods

 

OMG! I'm so excited!

On March 3rd I got a call from a friend asking if she could give my number to someone who was looking for an artist to do some mosaic work. I said of course!

On Friday March 5th I met with the client and got an idea of what she wanted. She was looking for a room divider that would create a collaborative space in her office. She wanted it to represent water and it needed to be done by April 23rd..

All sorts of ideas were running through my head as she showed me the space. I told her I would work on a proposal and get back to her by Monday.

I met with my blacksmith friend Colin McIntyre to discuss using metal in the wall. We had some great brainstorming sessions and discussed design ideas until the wee hours of the morning.

I was ready on Monday with a miniature version of what I wanted to create. The client was in Las Vegas, so we decided to have a chat via the phone and internet. She liked what we had come up with and told me she would get back to me shortly. 

A few days later she told me she would like to move forward with the project. We met again and discussed the budget. There was a $10,000 budget range which would determine the detail of the mosaic, the type of metal used, and whether or not the metal would be blued. She told me she needed to stay on the low end of the budget for the wall, but she also would like for us to do the clouds and the furniture. 

On March 16th I received the initial design budget. This would give me the resources to create an architectural drawing of the design, and buy materials to make a sample panel of the mosaic.

Since then I have been working with different materials trying to figure out the best method. I have been pointed in the wrong direction a few times, but that is all part of figuring it out. 

At this point the plan is to use metal lathe and stucco cement. The frame of the wall will be made out of steel plates. Then 2 inch metal tubing will be designed in a wavy fashion and welded onto the plates. The lathe will be riveted onto the tubing and the stucco applied to the lathe. Then mortar will be used to adhere the tile onto the stucco. Finally the tile will be grouted over, excluding the windows where the glass will be inserted. 

The expanded metal we ordered was too spaced out. So I had to wire tie a finer mesh on top of it in order to get the cement to stick. I couldn't find the lathe, so I got a roll of mesh made of 1/4 inch squares. Today when I went back I found the correct kind of lathe, so I will return that other stuff. 

I want the metal that is showcased in the piece to be blue. We thought about using a powder coater for the metal tubing, but it may make more sense to hire someone to paint it, with blue enamel paint.

We also thought about using masonite instead of the lathe, and applying the tile with epoxy, but mortar wouldn't stick to masonite, so that went out the window.

I applied a layer of mortar onto a sample 1x1 of expanded metal with the mesh wire tied on top, but it was too thick. So today I went back and exchanged the mortar for stucco cement and a better type of lathe. I think that worked better, but will have more of an idea tomorrow.